


Cu Chulainn (Alter) | Betrayal begets blood

by annitrn



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 07:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17893916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annitrn/pseuds/annitrn





	Cu Chulainn (Alter) | Betrayal begets blood

**_‘’There are a few in this world I would rather not make my enemy.’’_ **

You had always known that one of these people was Scathach - the teacher he held in high regards expected even in his current form. The person a part of him still feared, still respected even beyond the abyss the years and tainted grail had carved. And over the time that you had spent together, after all the blood that you had shed together, you had foolishly given yourself to the illusion that you would be one of these people that he wouldn’t turn against.

But you didn’t have a choice this time. Or rather, you were faced with a decision that broke your heart but had to be made for humanity’s sake. You couldn’t help but give a better smile at that thought. Of course. The hard decisions, the ones that always left a bitter aftertaste in your mouth, were always for the Greater Good. The era you were sent to had been on the brink of incineration if you didn’t encounter the Queen of the Land of Shadows herself, who was trying to neutralize the Singularity at all costs. You had been so relieved when she decided to lend you her strength in order to correct this timeline until she told you her one condition for siding with you.

_**‘As I am now, I can only kill while you won’t be able to repair this era without my aid. Not even with that cursed Fool at your side. As a Queen and his teacher I cannot permit such an evil, pitiful existence to remain in this world. And if it weren’t for my duty I would slaughter him out of mercy in any case. And don’t you thirst for my blood to wet these stones as well, oh foolish student of mine? So, what will it be, last Master of Humanity? Will you accept my help in exchange for his life?’** _

Everything in your heart screamed to outright reject her proposal. How could she put you before such a choice, that wasn’t even a choice in the first place? To make you destroy a bond forged in steel and blood, over countless of months and wars. Only to hinder the ruin of humanity. It would be kinder to kill you than forcing you to make such an repulsive decision.

It felt like your heart was ripped apart, bleeding into every other organ until you wanted nothing but to tear off your head and throw it into the dirt beneath your feet, when you gave a small nod, fully aware of his tense gaze on you. A seemingly small action, yet it filled you with so much disgust and agony you had to close your eyes.

When you finally dared to lift your eyes and face the Berserker, he simply nodded.

He was so good at killing your enemies and carving his, no, both your ways to victory, you had persuaded yourself, that he grew fond of you in his own way. You knew, he had cared for you a little, putting his faith in you as his ally. But he had also warned you to keep your defense around him, to stand by his side or feel his spear fall on you. For every betrayal, there was a price to pay and the crimson spear aimed at your neck right now clearly told you what the price for your betrayal would be.

But when you looked into his crimson eyes, in search of anything that was kind or familiar, you didn’t see anything but the fervent bloodlust that usually made him your strongest warrior. Not even anger or hatred. Only the slight hint of disappointment, even though it was fleeting and only there for a moment, before he wiped it away with a cut-throat look. Even allowed his lips to twitch up into a cold, cruel smile that made your insides turn.

_**‘Very well. There are people even I didn’t want to see as my enemy but seems like my spear will simply taste even more blood today. To think that you preached to me about the importance of comradery and now you’re the one to stand in my path for victory, along with that woman. Not that it matters. Now…time to die.’** _

For a split second you were stunned, desperately trying to get his words into your head. Your knees were weak, and heat was rising into your cheeks. But even while staring into death’s face you were more sad than afraid. Because you knew he wasn’t wrong. Because you were just too painfully aware that he didn’t see himself in the wrong. The Cú Chulainn as he was now didn’t know how to exist in shades of grey. Either you stood at his side, or you were against him. He was as simple and out of control like that, and while you had come to understand that over time it still couldn’t prevent you from putting your absolute trust in his loyalty. Unswerving faith can blind people. And it had blinded you, made you forget about his true nature after all that you went through together. A human being can try to befriend a wild animal, but never forget that he’s a ferocious beast that could turn against you anytime. That’s just in their nature.

And you were betraying him right in this instant, so how could you blame him for wanting his revenge, for wanting to see your blood wet his body like so many people had done before. It wasn’t that he didn’t need a reason to kill someone. It just didn’t have to be a good reason, and your betrayal surely was one. Half hoping that the Queen of Shadows would save you, half hoping that he would end your anguish you could only stand there, blood pounding in your ears, and wait for them to make their moves that would decide the fate of humanity.

The Berserker didn’t flinch or remove his merciless eyes from you, a cruel smile outstretched across his features that could barely contain the wrath he felt deep inside, as he walked towards you. A Mad King in all his deadly glory. His gaze only shifted when he saw Scathach moving at the same moment. He had believed that he discarded everything in this new form of his, any meaningless emotion that his original form may have harboured once. Joy, love, hatred, bitterness. Feelings that he abandoned, as a weapon was supposed to kill and not to be bothered my feelings.

Yet he couldn’t possibly ignore that short, sharp pang that blasted through his veins when he saw you accepting that woman’s proposal. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand neither your reasons nor hers, but getting discarded like that after all the time you had spent together would leave traces even on him and the corrupted remnants of his soul. But that wasn’t something he couldn’t shake off. Even if he had to kill you and that woman it wouldn’t change anything about his duty to strive for victory. To crush, overcome and trample everything for the sake of winning, until he found the empty place for him to die. But for now he would slaughter everyone until nothing remained. If you slashed at him as a traitor, he will parry with his vengeance.

It was time to kill.


End file.
